Extensible hasp and hinge fittings for attache and suit cases and the like



` Nov. 28, 1939. C; wA CHENEY EXTENSIBLE HAsP AND HINGE FITTINGS FOR ATTACH AND SUIT cAsEs AND THE LIKE Filed May 14, 1958 rlL 18 .15.4 charles Wuhan, Chene INYENTB 5.1 MAT-vw.

Patented Nov. 28, 1939A UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE Charles William Cheney, Soho, Birmingham, England Application May 14, 1938, Serial No. 207,958 In Great Britain March 25, 1937 2 Claims.

The invention relates to hasp and hinge fittings of the telescopic kind having ratchet action on closing the case to which they are tted, said case being also a telescopic one.

Said ttings comprise two telescopic members, the one member in the form of an elongated boxlike casing open at one end, and the other member in the form of a sheet metal slide or" channel cross-section. To the outer end of the slide is hinged a member which can be either a hasp or a hinge flap. The two members have provided between them ratchet xing means acting ratchet-like on contracting the case while closed, and automatically moved out of action when the hinged member makes angular movement upon the slide as in the case of a hasp, and when the slide makes angular movement upon the hinged member in the case of a hinge-flap.

The invention provides the hereinafter described and claimed constructive combination having for its objects the strengthening of the.,

slide and the consequent maintenance of the effective action of the ratchet fixing means and a more eective method of applying said ratchet fixing means to said slide.

Said slide is of channel cross-section and constitutes the support for the whole of the movable parts of the ratchet iixing means, and it is obvious that any deformation of this slide, even a slight deformation, will cause the ratchet action to become ineifective and the invention strengthens said slide (which is made of sheet metal) so that such deformation is impossible through ordinary reasonable usage, it being clearly understood that in this kind of fittings the slide may project from the casing to a considerable extent when closing the case, and when the two-part telescopic case is fully loaded.

The essential feature of the combination according to the invention is the formation upon the said metal slide of strengthening flanges at the longitudinal edges of its side walls, said flanges being bent outwardly or inwardly from said walls, and particularly inwardly and upwardly into the slide to lie closely against the inner surface of said side walls, in which positions they are formed with pivot bearings for part of the ratchet fixing means, as will be hereinafter described.

The drawing forming part hereof clearly shows the combination according to the invention.

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section through a hasp tting, applied to a case.

Fig. 2 is a front view of Fig. 1, without the case.

Fig. 3 is a cross-section of another form of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a cross-section of a modification of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a cross-section of a further modica- 5 tion of Fig. 3.

The same reference numerals indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawing.

I indicates the lid and 2 the body of a telescopic suit case, 3 is the casing of the fitting, 10 and 4 is the slide telescoping within the casing.

The elongated box-like casing 3 is open at one end 5, and formed with a longitudinal line of ratchet teeth 8, this casing to be Xed to the lid I by the side lugs `I. 15

The sheet metal slide I is of channel crosssection and to its outer end is hinged a hasp 8 by a hinging pin 9.

To the inner end of slide il is hinged a pawl I0 by a hinging pin Il, said pawl having a 20 torsional spring i2, supported on the hinging pin, to normally press said pawl into engagement with the ratchet teeth 6.

The hasp 8 is suitable for engagement with a lock I3, and has a shoulder It swinging inwardly 25 into the outer end of the slide li.

Within the slide il between the pawl I0 and the hasp 8 is a lever bar I5 pivoted at I6 to the opposite side walls of the slide.

The longitudinal edges of the side walls Il and 30 I8 of the slide i are bent into flanges I9, 20, to materially' strengthen said slide against deformation and so maintain the accurate position of the bearings for hasp 8, lever-bar I5 and pawl I.

Figs. 4 and 5 are modications only of Fig. 3 35 as to the forms of anges and have the underlying feature or strengthening the side Walls of the slide 4, and providing pivots 2l for the lever bar I5.

It will be clear that a hinge-flap may be sub- 40 stituted for the hasp 8 to be attached to the body 2 of the case.

The front of the casing 3 is formed at 22, 23, with tongue extensions 24, to be clinched over adjacent edges of a back plate 25 of the casing 3 45 to assist in the rigid attachment ofthe front plate to the back plate, which back plate is of the same shape as the front plate but dat.

Having now described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: 50

l. An extensible hasp or hinge tting of the character described, comprising an elongated box-like casing open at one end, a sheet metal slide of channel cross-section to telescope within said casing, said slide having outer side walls on 55M the base of the channel and inner side walls lying adjacent to and parallel With said outer side Walls and being integrally connected thereto, said inner side walls having opposite pivot bearing holes covered by the outer side Walls, a member hinged to the outer end of the slide, a spring operated pawl hinged to the inner end of the slide and a lever-bar having pintles pivoted in the pivot bearing holes of the inner side Walls of the slide so as to be protected against adverse Weather conditions and invisible and inaccessible from the outside, said lever-bar cori-y necting the pavvl With the said hinged member.

2. A fitting, as claimed in claim 1, in which said casing is provided with longitudinal guide grooves disposed in its side Walls adjacent the bottom, and said double Walls of the slide are outwardly flanged at their free edges, the flanged portions of said double walls engaging into and being guided by said grooves.

CHARLES WILLIAM CHENEY. 

